Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Interview: The Eldritch Conspiracy by Cat Adams

UFI welcomes C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp Authors of The Blood Singer series. Thanks for Joining us!!



What can you tell my readers about yourselves that they might not know from looking on your bio’s or reading about in another interview?

CIE:  I have very weird luck – both very good and very bad.  For example, I have been hit by lightning, and bitten by a black widow spider in a VERY unseemly spot.  It makes life very interesting, and keeps me on my toes.

CATHY:  Cie mentioning lightning reminds me that I have a weird magnetism. One of my husband's favorite things is to orient a compass to north and then have me move my hand under it. The needle moves off of north about six degrees! It sort of sucked going for my Girl Scouts' Trailblazing badge because I couldn't use the compass. But I quickly learned how to use landmarks.

What do you both enjoy doing on your down time?

CIE:  Down time?  What is this ‘down time’ of which you speak?  LOL.  Seriously, between the day job, the writing, and taking care of a house and multiple pets, I don’t have a lot of spare time.  But I love my life.

CATHY:  Same with me, I'm afraid. But I do like video games (Hitman and Harry Potter) and working on our small farm with the goats.

What is each of your Favorite part of writing?

CIE:  I love world building.  I love meeting the characters and getting to know them. 

CATHY:  I like the end product. The "writing" part isn't all that much fun for me. But I like having it completed.

Do either of you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

CIE: I mostly write in the morning, because by the end of the day I’m just flat too pooped.  But I don’t really have a special routine.

CATHY:  I write sort of weird. I tend to write in big lumps of time on weekends (like 7-9 hours in a stretch). I'm not one of the writers who write every day. I just can't get my head in it in short bursts.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

CIE:  Oh, there are so many!  I love Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Rachel Caine, Shannon Butcher . . . I could name more, but I’d better stop.

CATHY:  All of Cie's, plus Yasmine Galenorn, Laurell K. Hamilton, P.N. Elrod, Jaye Wells, and many, many others!

How would you explain The Blood Singer Series to someone who has never heard of it before??

CIE:  A bodyguard who specializes in protecting people from the monsters is attacked and partially transformed into one. 

CATHY:  A part vampire, part siren bodyguard who keeps having trouble brought to her doorstep.

What can you tell me about the world that The Blood Singer series is set in?

CIE:  It is a world where magic and the paranormal is normal.  Children are tested at a young age to find out what their gifts are, and trained in school.  The monsters are real and everyone knows to be careful.  There are even certified blessed holy items and one-shot holy water squirt guns available in every convenience store.   Celia was a bodyguard specializing in protecting people from the monsters, but when she was set up and an assignment went bad she was left partially turned.

CATHY:  Also, pretty much every pantheon of mythology is around and active, so Isis can appear in one book, and Thor in the next!

What was your favorite book in the series to write?

CIE:  I honestly enjoy them all.  The first book of a series is exciting because you’re getting to know a new set of people and a new world.  But by the time you’re a few books in it’s like visiting with old friends.

CATHY:  Demon Song was my favorite. I really enjoyed having demons try to breach our reality.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

CIE:  Cathy and I have very different favorites.  We also have very different taste in heroes/male leads.  It keeps things very interesting.  Probably my favorites are Celia, Dottie, and Minnie the Mouser.  LOL.

CATHY:  I like writing Rizzoli and Dawna, along with Creede.

Do you both always agree on a direction a book is going in?

CIE:  Not always.

CATHY:  Agreed.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

CIE:  I am working on a new Fae series.  We’re both going to be very busy.

CATHY: I'm working on a spin-off of the Tales of the Sazi series that's a very interesting take on the world. I'm also working on a new urban fantasy series that's very different from what is on the shelf.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING US OVER FOR A VISIT!
 
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CAT ADAMS is the author of the much-lauded Blood Singer series: Blood Song, Siren Song, Demon Song, and The Isis Collar. Adams is the joint pen name of C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp, who live deep in the heart of Texas. They are USA Today bestselling authors with their Sazi and Thrall series.


Find Cat Adams and  their books
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The Eldritch Conspiracy
Blood Singer #5
 Celia Graves was once an ordinary human, but those days are long gone. Now she strives to maintain her sanity and her soul while juggling both vampire abilities and the powers of a Siren. 


Not every bride needs a bridesmaid who can double as a bodyguard. But Celia's cousin Adriana is no ordinary bride: she's a Siren princess, and she's marrying the king of a small but politically important European country. She's getting death threats from fanatics who want to see the whole Siren race wiped out—including Celia herself, who is half Siren.


Luckily, Celia is on duty when a trip to a bridal salon is interrupted by an assassination attempt, so everyone survives. When Adriana returns to the Siren homeland to try to prevent a coup, Celia is free to hunt for the terrorists and the vile mage who is helping them (while keeping her eyes open for the perfect maid-of-honor dress).

Assuming the bride and groom both live to see their wedding day, this will be one royal wedding no one will ever forget.
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Monday, February 4, 2013

Early Review Review: House Rules by Chloe Neill

House Rules
Author:Chloe Neill
Release Date: February 4, 2012
Publisher: NAL
Chicagoland Vampires Book #7
ISBN:  0451237102
ISBN13: 9780451237101
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps.

At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

While Cadagon house is busy deflecting from the Greenwich Presidium rogue vampires start showing up dead. As usual a very busy Merit is on the case. We have a great array of all of our favorite characters playing a role in HOUSE RULES. We also have some we don't quite care for like Lacey who is back for to provide support to Ethan while trying to get back into his bed. While dealing with everything else its also time for Merit to be officially Sworn into the Red Guard. Merit believes whole heartedly that it is the right thing to do but Ethan's feelings are in the back of her mind and she has a bit of trouble with that.  As usual we cant go one book without some sort of conflict between Ethan and Merit. Thankfully they are evolving and adapting and are able to work through things a bit better than before. They very much compliment each other and we see just how much with each book. I loved some of the thoughts Merit was having about their future which coincides with some of Gabriel's past remarks.

There are plenty of surprises, humor, and secrets revealed in HOUSE RULES that makes it another great addition to the Chicagoland Vampire series. It is a must read and the series remains one of my favorites. Book 8 BITING BAD is set to release in August thankfully so we don't have long to wait until the next installment.

I gave it 4/5 stars

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Week in Review: 1/27-2/2


Books Ive Bought/received

* The Ward by Jordana Frankel- eARC- Edelweiss

* Temping is Hell by Cathy Yardley- Netgalley

* Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons- Publisher

* In the After by Demitria Lunetta- eARC- Edelweiss


Books I Read

Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
Temping is Hell by Cathy Yardley
The Prey by Andrew Fukuda
The Ward by Jordana Frankel
Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Reviews Posted

Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson
Between by Kerry Schafer
Prodigy by Marie Lu

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday- UFI participated in the blog tour for Twice Cursed by Marianne Morea with an Interview and giveaway.

* Tuesday a promo for Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson was posted.

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 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Winner: Demon's Curse by Alexa Egan

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: Finished copy of Demon's Curse
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Winner: Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Prize: Finished Copy of Stolen Nights
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy
Author:Marie Lu
Release Date: January 29, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Legend Book #2
ISBN:   0399256768
ISBN13: 9780399256769
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Publisher
 
June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

Marie Lu hit it out of the park with book 2 of the Legend series PRODIGY. I really enjoyed LEGEND so I knew PRODIGY would be enjoyable but I wasn't expecting it to be so much more than that.  

PRODIGY picks up right after LEGEND with June and Day making their way to Vegas and the Rebels. When they reach the rebels they learn some interesting things on how they operate and who they really are and are given the mission to assassinate the elector. This leads to trust issues, betrayal and loyalty. Plots are revealed, players change sides, and some even get to see the grass isn't greener on the other side. The different POV's proves again to be a fantastic way to keep up with the different sides of the story. The romance is up and down, its there and it isn't, its fantastic and its heartbreaking. June and Day have a lot against them. They are from two completely different lives but they are so drawn to each other and really compliment each other. Now throw in Anden and his infatuation with June and Tess's love for Day. There are a lot of feelings to work out.

Fantastic world, great characters and a fabulous storyline, what else could you ask for? The ending chapters were in short mind blowingly (is that a word?) fantastic. I had no idea which way it would go but it played out beautifully and I was glued to the pages for every moment of it. Of course there is a ridiculously well placed cliffhanger and now the wait until book 3 starts. Uggh cruel cruel authors. 

I gave it 5/5 stars